Match 29 (MEAC Quarterfinal)
Morgan State (5-23, 3-11 MEAC) vs. Delaware State (24-3, 12-2 MEAC)
Friday, November 19, 2021 | 5 p.m.
Washington, D.C. (Burr Gymnasium)
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BALTIMORE, Md. (Nov. 18, 2021)-The Morgan State volleyball team begins its quest for a fifth league championship, as it competes in this weekend's 2021 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Volleyball Championship, hosted by Howard University. The seventh-seeded Lady Bears will take the court with a quarterfinal contest against #2 Delaware State on Friday, Nov. 19 at 5 p.m. at Burr Gymnasium in Washington, D.C. Delaware State swept the season series, earning shutout victories in both meetings.
 
The Lady Bears (5-23, 3-11 MEAC) will enter the contest riding a three-match losing skid. Morgan State dropped its season finale on the road to rival Coppin State (11/12). Madison Grace led the Lady Bears with a match-high 14 kills and Makila Billingsley added nine kills. Alyssa Sampson recorded a team-high 13 digs in the loss, while Mackenzie Jefferson totaled a match-high 31 assists. Gabriela Hiciano fell shy of a double-double with 12 digs and eight kills.
 
Delaware State (24-3, 12-2 MEAC) closed out the season winning four straight to earn MEAC regular season co-champions with Howard. The Hornets went on the road and defeated Maryland Eastern Shore (11/12) in four sets to end the regular season. Alondra Maldonado finished with a match-best 15 kills, while Malgorzata Andersohn recorded a double-double with 25 assists and 14 digs. Jelena Dukic added 17 assists and Jasmal Cruz added 14 digs.  
 
MSU SERIES NOTES AGAINST DELAWARE STATE: Morgan State leads the all-time series, 48-20. Delaware State has won the past five meetings, including a season sweep this year.
 
NEXT UP: The winner will advance to Saturday's semifinal match at 8 p.m. against the winner of No. 3 Coppin State and No. 6 Norfolk State.
 
GRACE NAMED TO MEAC ROOKIE TEAM: Morgan State freshman outside hitter Madison Grace was named to the MEAC All-Rookie Team on Tuesday, Nov. 16. Grace led the Lady Bears with 292 kills and kills per set (3.14), while totaling two assists, six service aces, 64 digs and 22 blocks. A native of Clinton Township, Mich., Grace ranked 3^rd in the MEAC in kills. She reached double digits in kills 15 times and recorded 20-plus kills twice. She recorded a season-high 25 kills in a win at George Mason (9/10) and totaled another 25 kills a day later against Marist (9/11) in the George Mason Invitational. Grace tallied season-bests in blocks (4) and service aces (3) against Binghamton (8/28) and collected seven digs against Towson (8/27).
 
LADY BEARS PLACE EIGHT ON MEAC ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM: Morgan State had eight players (Melanie Battle, Londyn Coles, Gabriela Hiciano, Kendal Hoges, Tyasia McDuffie, Jourdan Page, Jasmin Perry and Alyssa Sampson) named to the MEAC Volleyball All-Academic Team, as announced by the league office (11/17).
 
GRACE EARNS FOURTH MEAC WEEKLY HONOR: Madison Grace was named MEAC Rookie of the Week (11/15). It was her fourth MEAC weekly honor for Grace, who also earned the award back-to-back weeks on Oct. 4 and Sept. 27, as well as on Sept. 13. The Clinton Township, Mich, native had an attack percentage of .200 in her final regular season match, finishing with a match-high 14 kills and four digs in the season finale at Coppin State (11/12).
 
SAYING GOODBYE: Morgan State said goodbye to its two seniors in two-year member Kendal Hoges and four-year member Jasmin Perry.during the Lady Bears' Senior Day festivities prior to their match against the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (Nov. 7). Hoges tallied a kill, one dig and two blocks, including one solo, while Perry totaled six kills, a dig and tied a team-high four blocks, all assisted in their final home match.

NOT SO HOME FEELING: The 2021 home campaign wasn't kind to Morgan State. The Lady Bears concluded the season with a 2-10 record at Hill Field House.
   
2021 MEAC CHAMPIONSHIP: This year's 2021 MEAC Volleyball Championship returns back to Washington, D.C. after a year hiatus. The championship tournament, which was held in Norfolk, Va. at Norfolk State University during the 2021 Spring season, will take place November 19-21, 2021 at Burr Gymnasium on the campus of Howard University. The last time the tournament was held in the Nation's Capital was during the 2019 season. Morgan State would reach the title match that season, falling to host Howard in a five-set thriller.
 
A FRESHMAN WILL LEAD THEM: Freshman outside hitter Madison Grace has totaled a team-leading 292 kills (3.14 kills per set). A native of Clinton Township, Mich., Grace has reached double-digits in kills 14 times this season. Grace ranks third in kills per set amongst league leaders and is averaging 10.9 kills per match in MEAC play.
 
IT'S ANOTHER HOME WIN: The Lady Bears secured their second straight home victory with a 3-0 defeat of Norfolk State (10/31). The win improved Morgan State to 2-8 at home this season. The Lady Bears picked up their first home win of the season in nine tries also with a 3-0 defeat of South Carolina State on Homecoming (10/24). The win ended a 10-match losing skid at Hill Field House dating back to the 2021 Spring season.
 
STILL UNBEATEN: Morgan State improved to 25-0 all-time against South Carolina State, following a 3-0 victory over the Bulldogs for Homecoming (10/24). The win marked the second sweep of S.C. State this season.
  
BOZIER APPROACHING 500 WINS: Morgan State head coach Ramona Riley-Bozier entered the 2021 Fall season with 476 career victories, 24 wins shy of No. 500. She is now 19 wins away from the 500-win plateau. Riley-Bozier, who is the all-time winningest coach at Morgan State in any sport with 481 career victories as the volleyball coach, is also the softball program's all-time career leader with 161 victories in the nine seasons she coached at the helm.

BOZIER ENTERS 34TH SEASON: Morgan head coach Ramona Riley-Bozier enters her 34th season at the helm of the Lady Bear program. The all-time winningest coach at MSU (481), Riley-Bozier guided the Lady Bears to 88 consecutive MEAC Northern Division wins between 1994-2003. She has led MSU to five MEAC Championships, three NCAA Tournament appearances and earned MEAC Coach of the Year honors five times. Bozier also coached the softball team at MSU for nine seasons and in 1999 led the team to its first MEAC title game appearance. A native of Kansas City, Mo., Bozier, is a graduate of MSU, where she was a two-sport start in volleyball and track. She is one of 11 players in the history of the program to have registered 1,000 career kills. On the track, Bozier was a three-time All-American and one of the top triple jumpers at Morgan. She still holds the UMBC meet record in the 60 meter dash (1983) and ran the first leg of the 4X100 relay, which in 1986 set the school record in a time of 44.47 seconds, which also still stands. That squad would also win the Penn Relays and finished second that year at the Division I National Championships. Bozier was inducted into the Morgan State Hall of Fame in 2003.

OPENING SERVE: Morgan State dropped to 9-20 in season openers since the 1993 season, after falling to visiting Cleveland State, 3-0 in the home opener (8/27). The Lady Bears' last opening day victory was a 3-2 win at home against Seton Hall in the opener of the Morgan/Towson Invitational (8/30/19).
  
MORGAN PICKED TIED FOR FOURTH IN MEAC: Morgan State was picked to finish tied for fourth with Maryland Eastern Shore in the eight-team Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) preseason poll, as voted by the league's head coaches and sports information directors. In 2020-21, the Lady Bears were picked to finish tied for third with Delaware State in the MEAC Northern Division and ended up third.
      
2021 CAPTAINS ANNOUNCED: Junior middle hitter Melanie Battle (La Plata, Md.) has been named 2021 team captain, while senior middle blockers Kendal Hoges (West Orange, N.J.) and Jasmin Perry (Bowie, Md.) will serve as co-captains.

WELCOME TO THE CAVE: Morgan State welcomed the addition of eight newcomers to the 2021 squad, three freshmen, three sophomore transfers and two junior transfers. Those newcomers are freshmen Trinity Carruthers (Grand Prairie, Texas), Madison Grace (Clinton Township, Mich.) and Kayla Gaddy-Middleton (Dayton, N.J.) along with sophomore transfers Makila Billingsley (Plainfield, N.J.), Justyus Jackson (Davenport, Iowa) and Mackenzie Jefferson (Prosper, Texas) and junior transfers Kamryn Brown (Evergreen Park, Ill.), Jadore Hayes (Grapevine, Texas).
 
MORGAN EARNS USMC/AVCA ACADEMIC AWARD AGAIN: The Lady Bears volleyball program was honored as a recipient of the United State Marine Corps (USMC) and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the 2020-21 academic year. Morgan State had a team GPA of 3.62. It marked the second consecutive year the team has earned the award. Last season Morgan State, which received the award for the first time in program history, posted a team GPA of 3.48 for the 2019-20 academic year.
  
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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.